PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, in a surprise move on Wednesday, executed a major shake-up in the Armed Forces and the Police, relieving the service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) of their positions and immediately announcing their replacements.

Those affected include the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Abdulrahman Dambazzau;  Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Iko Ibrahim; the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ogbonna Onovo and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Afakiriya Gadzama.

A statement from the presidency signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ima Niboro, announced that President Jonathan had appointed Air Marshal O.O. Petinrin, who until Wednesday, was the Chief of Air Staff, as the new Chief of Defence Staff; Major O.A. Ihejirika was announced as the Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral O.S. Ibrahim, new Chief of Naval Staff, while Air Vice Marshal M.D. Umar was appointed the Chief of Air Staff.

According to the statement, Mr Hafiz A. Ringim was appointed as the acting Inspector General of Police, while Ita Ekpeyong would take over as the new Director-General of the SSS.

The statement said: “The appointments which take immediate effect are, however, subject to the confirmation of the National Assembly, in line with the provisions of the Armed Forces Act, Section 18, cap A20, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The president thanks the outgoing service chiefs, whose tenure expired in August, for their loyalty and dedication to service. He specially commended them for defending the Nigerian constitution at all times and for a successful command of the Armed Forces during their tenure,” it said.

The statement added that President Jonathan also thanked the outgoing Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of SSS “for their dedication to service of the fatherland and wishes them well in their future endeavour.”

The new Chief of Army Staff, Major General O.A. Ihejirika, is a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division Lagos.

He was later posted to the Army Headquarters from where he was redeployed to the Defence Headquarters as a director.

Until his new appointment, Ihejirika was the Chief of Logistics, Defence Headquarters. He will be decorated with his new rank of Lieutenant-General after the Muslim holidays.

The new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral O.S. Ibrahim, until his new appointment was the FOC, Western Naval Command, Lagos. He will also be decorated with his new rank of Vice Admiral next week.

The new Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal M.D. Umar, a trained pilot, has flown very long hours in the Nigerian Air Force. He was the Director of Operations at the Air Force Headquarters, from where he was appointed the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Training Command, Kaduna, before his new appointment.

He will also be decorated with his new rank of Air Marshal next week. He succeeds Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, who is now the new Chief of Defence Staff.

The new Acting Inspector General of Police, Hafiz A. Ringim, AIG Zone 9, was born on April 1, 1953.
He enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1977 and was posted to Umuahia as AIG Zone 9 on August 28, 2009.

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